Mexican loteria is a wonderful traditional card game similar to “Bingo.” However, it is also a form of folk art, as each of the colorful cards has an image of popular Mexican figures, such as “El Catrin” (The Gentleman), “El Borracho” (The Drunk), “La Calavera” (The Skeleton), “La Chalupa” (The Flower Boat), etc. There are many different variations of these colorful cards, including loteria cards with images from the Day of the Dead, fruits, and other unusual figures.

The game is played in a similar way to bingo, except that Mexicans use beans as place markers, and the name of each card is called out during the game. In Mexican homes everywhere, you can here the game being played: “La Muerte! La Catrina! La Sandia! La Campana!”

Traditionally, the person who calls out the cards should ideally make up a rhyme about the image, and the other players guess which one the person is talking about. They then place a dry bean on the object that they have correctly identified.

When the cards are filled, the winner shouts “Loteria!” and wins a prize. The game was a popular betting game in town ferias (town fairs).

The loteria cards have 20 squares with a different image in each square. The traditional loteria includes images of fruits, vegetables, people, and other objects such as:

La Dama (The Lady)El Catrín (The Gentleman)La Calavera (The Skull)La Sandia (The Watermelon)La Chalupa (The Boat)El Borracho (The Drunk)El Soldado (The Soldier)

These days, the images are not necessarily the traditional ones listed above. My wife and I have a collection of Mexican loterias with images of fruits, vegetables, world flags, etc. Artists and creative game manufacturers are coming up with lots of unique designs for loterias these days.There are other versions of this game as well. In the Mexican state of Campeche, there is a version of loteria with 25 squares and 90 images. This version includes numbers and images. There is said to be a version in the state of Yucatan that uses pictures of regional chiles and Maya women dressed in the traditional clothing from that area.

Teachers in the United States and elsewhere have discovered the use of loteria cards as a great way to teach Spanish in their classrooms. As there are dozens of cards all with colorful images, students can associate the word with the image. And since there is someone who calls out the name of each loteria card, the students can hear the exact pronunciation of the words as they play the game.

Loteria images are also popular in modern Mexican folk art, decorating colorful boxes, notecards, just about anything you can think of!

We've been collecting unusual recipes from throughout Mexico for over a year. They are now available in this collection of recipes and essays about the history and origins of some of Mexico's most delicious foods. Click the link below to find out more!